Douyin Bans Pro-LGBT Content

Douyin, China's version of TikTok, censors pro-LGBT content, prohibiting "unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love" and taking down images of gay couples. In contrast, TikTok says it 'celebrates' the LGBT community and explicitly bans anti-LGBT discrimination—which Douyin does not.

In this report, IPVM examines Douyin's censorship and what it reveals about its PRC parent ByteDance, which did not respond to our comment requests. IPVM previously examined Douyin's strict censorship of content criticizing the PRC and its Communist Party.

Douyin Background

Douyin (抖音) is China's version of TikTok. Both are short-form video apps owned by ByteDance, a private company headquartered in Beijing and domiciled in the Cayman Islands due to PRC foreign capital restrictions (similar to PRC firms SenseTime & Alibaba.)

Douyin's app, with ~600 million active users, is only available within the PRC while TikTok is globally available (except in the PRC) and has over 1 billion active users.

Bans "Unhealthy And Non-Mainstream Views On Marriage And Love"

Content guidelines for short dramas on Douyin's Mini-Apps remind Douyin developers that Douyin will impose penalties on any content promoting "unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love" (不健康和非主流的婚恋观的):

2. Video coverage content

Obscene and pornographic, exaggerating vulgar and low-level tastes, promoting unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love, and contrary to social morality [emphasis added]

二、视频覆盖内容

淫秽色情，渲染庸俗低级趣味，宣扬不健康和非主流的婚恋观的，有悖于社会公德的

The guidelines are from October 8, 2022. Punishment for violators includes removal of content, freezing of online wallets, and shadow-banning i.e. shutting off traffic to the content ("处罚方式包含但不限于短剧下架、限制搜索、关闭流量、限制提现、冻结钱包").

IPVM searches on Douyin's desktop website, www.douyin.com, showed no popular posts promoting gay couples or explicitly LGBT topics, with many results for e.g. "same-sex marriage" consisting of dry legal explainers.

Mandated by PRC Government

This language is copied, verbatim, from the mandatory PRC government's Standards and Detailed Rules for Reviewing Online Short Video Content (网络短视频内容审核标准细则) which prohibits , under Rule 68, any content that "promotes unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love" (宣扬不健康和非主流的婚恋观的).

Post Censored For Appearing To Promote Homosexuality

IPVM found a Douyin video showing how Douyin's censorship works in action.

In the post, a male influencer tried to post a video of a male friend about to (jokingly) kiss him. The video was removed for "not following [Douyin] Community Rules" (内容不符合社区规则) because it "has possible involvement with promoting non-mainstream views on marriage and love" (当前作品可能涉及宣扬非主流的婚恋观等内容):

Commenters mostly laughed at the awkward phrasing of the sentence "promoting unhealthy and non-mainstream views on marriage and love" (宣扬不健康和非主流的婚恋观的) likely unaware that this is PRC law.

Douyin No Ban On Anti-LGBTQ Content, Unlike TikTok

TikTok's Community Guidelines ban "hateful ideology" including "anti-LGBTQ" content along with Holocaust denial, White supremacy, misogyny, anti-Semitism, etc:

However, Douyin's Community Guidelines, known as the Self-Disciplinary Regulations, make no mention of banning anti-LGBTQ content or LGBTQ people in general.

TikTok 'Celebrating' LGBT Community

The contrast between TikTok and Douyin is even clearer with TikTok posting about "celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community" in June 2022 for Pride Month:

However, there is no corresponding coverage (or even mention) of LGBT people from Douyin that IPVM could find.

In 2020, TikTok publicly apologized for censoring LGBT content and committed to undoing this, stating this happened as an inadvertent result of an attempt to "reduce bullying". However, Douyin deliberately censors LGBT content, and has so far not faced significant media scrutiny for this.

Showcases ByteDance Involvement In PRC Censorship

Douyin's removal of LGBT content showcases ByteDance's strict compliance with the PRC's censorship machine, raising discrimination and freedom of expression concerns.

ByteDance No Response

ByteDance did not respond to IPVM's comment request. If they do, we will update.